1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and particularly to a connector for connecting daughter boards to a mother board.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the electronic industry, board-to-board (BtoB) connectors are designed to work in complementary pairs and are configured to electrically connect two separate printed circuit boards (PCBs) together. Such BtoB connectors are each mounted on their respective PCBs. One of the PCBs is designated a mother board, the other is designated a daughter board. The two PCBs electrically connect with each other via the interconnecting BtoB connectors.
FIG. 8 shows a first and a second conventional BtoB connectors 3xe2x80x2, 4xe2x80x2 respectively mounting on a first and a second printed circuit boards (PCBs) 1xe2x80x2,2xe2x80x2. The first connector 3xe2x80x2 includes an insulative housing 5xe2x80x2 and a plurality of first contacts 6xe2x80x2 received in the housing 5xe2x80x2 in an up right fashion. The second connector 4xe2x80x2 includes an insulative housing 8xe2x80x2 and a plurality of second contacts 7xe2x80x2 received in the housing 8xe2x80x2 in an up right fashion. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,842,875 and 5,041,005 disclose similar connectors.
However, such connectors provide only one mating port and can engage with complementary connectors in only one direction. These connectors are not multiple port connectors and cannot satisfy a requirement for engaging with more than one board in more than one direction. Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having multiple ports opening in different directions for engaging with mating connectors in different directions;
A second object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly including a female connector having at least two mating ports opening in different directions and at least two male connectors engageable with the female connector along the two different directions.
To fulfill the above objects, a female electrical connector of the present invention includes an insulative housing defining a first slot and a second slot respectively opening in two different directions and differing in orientation from each other by 90 degrees, and a plurality of first and second contacts respectively received in the first and the second slots. The first contacts each have a mating portion parallel with a bottom face of the housing. The second contacts each have a mating portion perpendicular to the bottom face of the housing. The connector is thus engageable with mating connectors in two different directions.
In a second embodiment, the first and the second slots differ in orientation by 45 degrees and mating portions of the first and the second contacts are angled a difference of 45 degrees from each other.
In a third alternative embodiment, the housing defines a first slot, a second slot and a third slot, the first, second and third slots each receiving respectively a plurality of first, second and third contacts therein. The second slot differs in orientation from the first slot by 90 degrees while the third slot differs in orientation from the first slot by 45 degrees.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.